A. Two hundred sixty-two patients with small cell lung cancer were treated with 5 different chemotherapy regimens from 1977 through 1993. Patients starting on treatment were designated as normal, obese or severely obese and their toxicity was assessed during their initial treatment. There were no consistent associations of significance found between increasing body mass index and toxicity from therapy or survival. B. Fifty-four patients with limited stage small cell lung cancer were treated with etoposide cisplatin plus twice daily chest radiotherapy. The median survival is 21.3 months with actual survival of 83% at l year, actuarial survival of 43% at 2 years, and 19% at 5 years. C. The limited-stage patients treated with etoposide/cisplatin plus twice daily chest radiation therapy lived longer than 101 limited stage patients treated with two different cyclophosphamide-based chemotherapy combinations and once daily chest radiation. There was no difference in the survival of patients with extensive stage small cell lung cancer treated with 5 different chemotherapy regimens over the past 20 years.